In the run - up to the iPhone , a lot has been made about some of the gimmick ’s sparklier attributes that distinguish it from other nomadic earpiece — big ol’ tactile sensation - screen , practical keyboard , swoopy interface , Cover Flow pilotage of mass medium , and on and on . I ’d like to address a more mundane but potentially more important vantage : I may not feel compelled to buy another one until long after my service agreement runs out .
Oh sure , I may betemptedby a new - model iPhone that offers greater storage capacity , honest - down in the mouth GPS , and better ability management , but , if Apple does the ripe thing , I wo n’t feel like I ’m stuck with a lump of out - of - appointment technology .
Take a looking at at the earphone clip to your pelvic girdle . When was the last time you upgraded its software or firmware ? Ever ? And , if so , what nerveless fresh trick was your phone capable of after the update ?
For the sake of our viewers at home , the correct answer are :
Right . Up to this point , peregrine phones offer all the upgradability of a hunk of cheese . Other than the expensive ring tone of voice and Hello Kitty wallpaper you add to it , a mobile headphone ’s feature set will exchange not one smidge from the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. you put it into service until an errant puddle puts an end to its utility . If the equipment’siPodheritage bear any sway , this will not be the case with the iPhone .
We understand that you move metier substance to the iPhone via iTunes , using the same kind of tethered USB - to - electronic computer connection enjoyed by Apple ’s portable digital media player . If you own an iPod you cognise that , every so often , iTunes will pop up a message inform you that a new version of the iPod software exists . Click to download and install and your iPod is provided with Modern capabilities . For example , thanks to just such an update , the original fifth - generation iPod adopted a search feature that was n’t there previously .
grant , most of these upgrades have been anything but startling . Apple has oblige back some of the cool rising slope with the idea that if you really require them , you ’ll abandon your old iPod and get a novel one . I ’m bright that Apple , with the cooperation of AT&T , plays the iPhone differently .
Steve Jobs severalize us that iPhone entanglement applications programme are jake as far as he ’s concerned . Just as jake should be Apple - brewed practical app as they become available . Just jack up the iPhone data point cable into the port below , iTunes automatically launches , declare oneself an update ( and some details on what that update provides ) , and you ’ve got an iPhone that ’s largely feature - corresponding to Apple ’s recent mobile phone .
And why might Apple take this route rather than holding the good stuff for the latest example ? The competitive edge and the service plan .
Again , name a phone that follows a computing gadget / iPod upgrade model . Being able to offer a mobile sound that never grows old shines an even more glowing light on the iPhone .
And while you may be able to get away with push customers to this twelvemonth ’s iPod by dangling glossy Modern features before them , the iPhone and iPod differ in that purchasing a new iPod does n’t also require you to sign your spirit off for an extra two age . Bad enough that , unlike the original , iPhone v.2 can broil patty and repel mosquitoes . Worse is being required to extend a table service contract into the next decade simply to enjoy afters more often while also forfend a nagging pillow slip of West Nile .
I care fresh gear as much as the next guy , but I dread the notion of advance my earphone every year . The iPod - update model should be our usher . lease ’s hope Apple and AT&T check .
